Getting The Crew On Board
We can’t sail this vessel alone. We need all hands on deck!
For those with a crew to consider, it’s vital to get them on board. A strong crew can act as essential deckhands, helping you reach your destination. But without cooperation, they might clog the scuppers and risk sinking the ship altogether
If you’re sailing solo on the voyage to financial security, your path is simpler. You can steer our old, leaky ship toward Budget Island and miss this step. The waters are calm, and the destination is within sight. While the ship may have its challenges—some leaks and anchor chains slowing us down—once we reach Budget Island, we can take stock and see what repairs are needed.
Taking Stock of our situation
I’m going to veer into some treacherous waters myself here and make some vast generalizations that may or may not be true in your situation. In the end it doesn’t matter. The outcome is what we are concerned about here.
In a household you will tend to have someone who worries more the money side of things and one that is ‘less concerned’ shall we say. It can be either gender too.
Women are typically responsible for the majority of household purchases, accounting for up to 80% of consumer spending. They often prioritize groceries, personal care products, and healthcare.
Men tend to spend more on vehicles, electronics, and alcohol. For example, men spend 38% more on buying vehicles than women.
Women are more likely to use coupons and look for sales, while men are more inclined to make quick, goal-oriented purchases.
Men spend about $10 more per online transaction than women, but women are more likely to shop online for household needs.
Men spend more on entertainment and transportation, while women allocate more to clothing and personal care.
Women often focus on debt repayment and household savings, whereas men may prioritize investments or leisure-related expenses.
There is evolutionary reasons for this.
Household purchases – Women, historically responsible for child-rearing, evolved to prioritize resources that ensure the survival and well-being of their offspring. This could explain why women often focus on household necessities, healthcare, and education.
Big ticket purchases – Men, on the other hand, often competed for mates by displaying resources and status. This might underlie modern tendencies for men to spend on big-ticket items like cars, electronics, or luxury goods, which can signal wealth and success.
Risk Aversion vs. Risk-Taking: Women, due to their role in nurturing, may have evolved to be more risk-averse, leading to careful spending and saving habits. Men, traditionally hunters and providers, might have developed a higher tolerance for risk, reflected in investments or leisure-related expenses.
Women’s historical role in maintaining social bonds within communities could explain their focus on purchases that enhance relationships, like gifts or social activities.
The critical key to your success from here on out is to work together as a family unit. Using our different strengths can help offset our weaknesses and propel our ship forward much faster than we could have hoped. Working against each other will drive our ship into the rocks and the murky depths below.
We need to be cautious in order to accumulate our safety net but we need to take on an element of risk if we are to outpace the degradation of those savings due to inflation. We need a good mix of caution and boldness if we are to do more than just “get by”.
Children can get involved as much or as little as you like with the progress. It all depends on their ages and level of understanding. At the end of the day though it is the parents that are steering the ship.
Of course, all our starting points are different. Debt and money problems are the main cause of destruction in marriages. Gambling, drugs and alcohol can be extremely destructive forces too that are not easy demons to battle.
Before we get to work fixing our financial problems, we need to make sure the base is strong. For our ship analogy we need to make sure to check the rot and that we are all ready with our tools and strengths to get our vessel seaworthy once more.
Lets test our ship by sailing over to Budget Island. Some of you may have the anchor of debt slowing you down, but Budget Island is where we’ll do a thorough inspection and see if we can’t get this thing seaworthy again. It is the most important of our destinations and it is imperative that we know where our money is going.